Ukagaikata (a government officer in the Edo period) (伺方)

"Ukagaikata" indicates the name of a government post in Kanjosho (the department in charge of financial and public affairs) of the Edo bakufu or officers (called kanjo-shu) of that department.

Two of the finance group heads assumed the chief ukagaigata post, and although some eras are unclear, of the 230 or so kanjo-shu officers in the Edo period around 40 held the Ukagaikata post. Ukagaikata included the following jobs: 'nakanoma-gakari' for handling the various taxes in the direct territories of the shogun, 'Shinpo-gata' for handling repairs to bakufu-related shrines and temples, 'Ohayashi-kata' for managing mountains and forests in bakufu territories, 'Otaka-kata' for supervising the falconry of Seii taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians") and clerical work related to the falconry, 'Unjo-kata' for handling Unjo (business-related taxes), Myoga (tax for the use of a mountain, river, lake or sea) and Buichi (various miscellaneous taxes). Other positions included: 'Shoiriyo-kata' for handling paying or lending expenses of daikan (local governor) of the bakufu, 'Shomon-shirabekata' for sorting out documents issued by daikan-sho (daikan's offices) or Azukari-dokoro, 'Ginmimono-gakari' for checking applications from the kanjosho (for exemptions for building ports or markets, cutting woods or Unjo and other taxes), 'Shuzo-gakari' for supervising sake-brewers, including sake-kabu (a sake-brewing license), and 'Kinshu-gakari' for handling muyaku-kin (no tax), collecting jono-kin (monetary contributions) and doing clerical jobs related to these operations.

[Original Japanese]